Crate-form.



No. 776,013. PATENTED NOV. Z9, 1904. E. DECOW L J. STEWART.

CRATE FORM.

APPLICATION FILED APn,e.19o4.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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No. 776,013. PATENTED NGV. 29, 1904. E. DECOW & J. STEWART.

CRATE FORM.

APPLICATION FILED APB. e. 1904.

2 SHBETB-SHBET 2.

'N0 MODEL.

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Patented November 29, 1904.

PAT ENT OFFICE.

REER DE )()VV ANI) JAMES STEVVAR'I. OF VASSAR, MICHIGAN.

CRATE-FORNI.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 776,013, dated November 29, 194.

Application tiled April 6, 1904.

To .ILM whom t nul/y con/cern:

Be it known that we,EBER D noowand J nains STEWART, citizens of the United States ofi America, and residents of Vassar, county of Tuscola, State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Crate- Forms, of which the following is a full and clear specification, reference being had to the i accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view showing all the slats on the form and nailed together ready to be removed therefrom', Fig. 2, a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a detail section,enlarged,throngh one side of the form, showing more particularly the manner in which the spring-actuated clamps are operated. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a crate made on our machine; and Fig. 6 is a detail perspective View of a portion of one corner of the form, showing more particularly the groove for the reception of the corner-posts of the crate.

The object of this invention is to providea simple apparatus for holding the corner-posts and the slats of the crate in position on the form while they are being nailed together, the form being supported in such a manner that it may be shifted about to bring its sides and ends and bottom into the most convenient position for nailing and the clamping means being of such a construction that the crate may be readily slid off the form after it is completely nailed, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

Referring to the drawings, Av designates a suitable base, and B a pair of standards erected thereon and notched at their upper ends for the reception of the trunnions a of a U-shaped rocking frame or shaft this frame or shaft being preferably constructed of tubing for the sake of lightness and the U bend being extended horizontally rearward. Attached to this shaft midway its ends and extending forwardly a suitable distance is a tube c, and through this tube extends a rotatable shaft (l, whose forward end, which projects slightly beyond the forward end of the tube c, is rig'- idly attached, by a rivet I or otherwise, to the center of the inner side of the bottom of the Serial No. 201,882. (No model.)

i form proper, f, a suitable brace-plate y being' attached to the inner side of the bottom to strengthen the connection of the shaft to the form. The formf consists of a hollow metal box having the desired dimensions and provided at each corner with a rectangular depression or groove for the reception of the cornerposts i, a suitable stop j being provided at the inner or rear ond of each groove or depression to properly position the post.

The shaft d extends backward through the coupling It' at the middle of the tubular frame and has coiled around its projecting end a spring Z, which is confined between a washer m and the rear end of the coupling lc, serving to normally draw the shaft backward and hold the brace-plate g against the forward end of the tube c, thereby serving not only to take up wear, but also to insure sufficient friction to prevent the form from rotating' too freely. To lock the form in its horizontal position, in which position it is best adapted for placing and nailing the side and end slats, a vertical spring n. is mounted on the base and extended upward and curved into the path of the rounded rear end of the shaft (I. This spring is so curved and the end of the shaft is so rounded that the end ofthe shaft slips out of the hole in the spring automatically when the forward end of the form is raised, it requiring but a slight outward pull on the front end of the form to slip the rounded nose of the shaft out of its locking-hold, and when the form is again brought to a hori- Zontal position the rear end of the shaft rides along the spring and automatically snaps into the hold therein and serves as a stop and a ook.

To hold the bottom slatsin place, itis simply necessary to provide stationary anges or lugs o properly spaced and positioned; but to clamp the side and end slats in position a special form of clamp is required, since means must be provided to hold these slats against the form while the form is rotated to bring the sides in succession upward into the most convenient position for nailing. We prefer l the form of clamping device shown, which y consists of two series ot' clamping-fingers p l on each face of the form, which fingers are 05 and nailing the bottom slats.

spring-actuated, so that when released they will automatically disappear into the interior of the form. Each clamping-finger consists of a spring-piece of metal having an angular bend, which is adapted to extend outward through an opening in the form in proper position for receiving the slat. The inner end of the clamp is fastened to the inner face of the wall of the form and is made of spring metal, which has a tendency to spring inward into the box, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, when:released. To project the clamp-fingers, a sliding bar q is mounted on the interior of the form in line with each row of clamp-fingers, the forward ends of each pair of bars projecting beyond the rear side of the form and being connected together by a handle y", so that each pair of bars may be operated simultaneously. Each bar is provided with a i pair of cam-lugs s, whose inclined edges face l rearward and which serve when the bar is l forced rearward to force the outer edge of f the bar toward the adjacent wall of the form, and thereby project the clamp-fingers out through their respective openings. These cams impinge against loops t, secured to the l wall of the form, these loops serving also to guidethe bar and hold it in position. To prevent the bars from being pulled too far out, each cam is provided with a stop-luga, which strikes against the guide-loop when the bar has reached its farthest limit of movement l outward. Each cam is also provided with a j short fiat part w, which when the bar is pulled 1,

to its extreme outward position bears against the inner side of the loop and serves to prei vent the pressure of the spring-clamping fingers against the outer edges of the bar from l prematurely sliding it inward. In assembling and nailing a crate the bars l q, carried by the upper side of the form, are first pulled out, thereby projecting the clampi fingers on that side of the form. The cornerposts are then 'placed in position, and the i side slats are then slipped under the clampfingers y), the rear slat--- -that is, the one that l is to become the top slat in the crate -being l slipped under a spring-finger w, secured to the rear edge of the form, suitable stops .fr being secured to the edge of the form on each side of its finger w to assist in properly positioning this slat. When the slats are thus l placed in position, the bars gare slid inward, thereby releasing the clamp-fingers and perl mitting them to normally clamp the slats. The form may then be rotated to bring l another side upward and the same operation in placing' the slats on that side be carried l out until the slats on both ends and sides and the corner-posts are in position. The slats l are then nailed to the corner-posts,after which the supporting-shaft may be rocked in its bearings a to bring the bottom of the form upward to a convenient position for placing l W hen these l bottom slats are nailed, the completed crate may be bodily slid o" the form, it being ob- Vious that as soon as the side and end slats are moved far enough forward to pass from under the spring-fingers j) said fingers will automatically disappear into the form, and consequently will not afford any obstruction to the withdrawal of the crate from the form. To permit the side and end slats to move far enough forward to allow the springfingers to recede into the form before the forward edges of the slats strike the rear faces or shoulders of the fingers, it is obvious that the space between the forward end of each spring-linger and the forward linger in front olf it must be greater than the width of the s ats.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that our invention is not confined to the details of construction shown and described, and we therefore reserve the right to depart from said details without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-Y 1. In an apparatus of the class described,

. the combination of asupport, a U-shaped rocking framejournaled thereon, a shaft journaled in said U-shaped frame, and a crate-form carried by said shaft, said crate-form carrying Slat-holding devices.

2. In combination with a support, a rocking frame, and a rotatable crate-form journaled thereon at right angles to the axis of the rocking frame, said crate-form carrying means for holding slats while being nailed.

3. In combination with a support, a rocking I frame journaled thereon, a shaft journaled in said frame midway its ends and carrying at its forward end a crate-form provided with Slat-holding means.

4. In combination with a support, a crateform carrying slat-holding means, and means connecting the crate-form to the support in such a manner that it may be rotated to bring any side upward and inverted to bring its bottom upward.

In combination with a support, a U- shaped frame iournaled therein, a shaft journaled in said frame and carrying at its forward end a rotatable crate-form, a tension device on the shaft, and means for locking the U-shaped frame in a horizontal position, for the purposes set forth.

6. In combination with a support, a rocking e frame journaled thereon, a rotatable crateform supported on said frame and carrying Slat-holding devices, and means for locking the frame in its horizontal position.

7. In combination with a support, a U- shaped frame journaled therein and carrying a forwardly-projecting tube, a shaft journaled in said tube and extending therethrough, a rotatable crate-form attached to the forward end IOO IIO

of the shaft, and a spring-stop adapted to engage the rear projecting end of the shaft.

8. A crate-form and means for rotatably supporting it, clamping-fingers on each side of the crate-form, and means for projecting said ingers out through openings in the side walls of the crate-form and for withdrawing them into the crate-form, for the purpose set forth.

9. In combination with a rotatable crateforrn having openings in its side walls, spring clamping-fingers supported on the interior of said crate-form and normally tending to spring inward, and means for projecting said springingers out through their respective openings.

1Q. The combination of a rotatable cratel form provided with openings in its side walls,

l clamping-lingers supported interiorly of the i form and adapted to be projected through said i openings, and means for projecting said clampi ing-fingers, said means consisting of a series l of sliding bars and cam devices, substantially as set forth.

Y In testimony whereof we hereunto affix our s signatures, in the presence of two witnesses.

l this 4th day of April, 1904.

EBER DECOW.

`i JAMES STEWART.

Witnesses:

l F. B. COLLINS,

Rosoon C. WIXsoN. 

